A busy Essence Festival for Neyow's Creole Café on Bienville Street ended with an armed robbery after it closed for the night Sunday.

It was a typical Monday morning at the Mid-City eatery.

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Staffers arranged chairs, sliced bread and set tables to get ready for the lunchtime rush Monday. But unusual were conversations about the armed robbery that happened the previous night.

“As far as I know, someone tried to come in and I guess rob the place. The only person that was here was our maintenance guy,” said Allison Brooks, a chef at the restaurant. “He was cleaning up, and I guess they tried to come in through the back door.”

New Orleans police said two masked gunmen robbed the restaurant. One held the restaurant's maintenance worker at gunpoint while the other stole cash out of the registers, police said.

Police said the gunmen got away with about $400 in cash.

“He's a little shaken up, but he's OK,” Brooks said.

Brooks said the restaurant is normally closed on Sundays. But with thousands of people in town for Essence Festival, it was open this Sunday.

“We have security here every night that we're open -- during business hours -- all the time. So, I don't understand. Maybe they thought they had a million bucks in here,” Brooks said.

Brooks said she's shocked and sad that this happened, but glad everyone is OK.

“It was just an opportunity that they took and a waste of their time and unnecessary,” Brooks said. “Crime doesn't pay. Hopefully they get the picture that it doesn't pay at all.”

Police have not given any description of the robbers. Anyone with information about the crime, is asked call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

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